Artificial intelligence travel policy advisor

Abstract

A method to form the travel policy for an organization can include using feedback from a user selecting travel reservations annotated with the travel policy to continuously modify the travel policy. The travel policy can be improved to provide the organization with a control of the travel expenditures, together with an advanced knowledge of the travel reservations of the users. In addition, the travel policy can give the users the freedom to select the travel reservations that are most suitable to the users and also acceptable by the corporation.

1 . A computer-implemented method comprising
 forming a travel policy for a company, wherein the travel policy comprises restrictions regarding travel related expenditures of multiple employees of the company;   receiving, from an employee of the multiple employees of the company, a search request for a travel reservation, wherein expenses of the travel reservation of the employee are governed by the travel policy of the company;   generating search results based on the search request for the travel reservation;   displaying the search results, wherein the displayed search results are annotated based on the travel policy;   analyzing selections of the employee from the search results to provide a degree of compliance with the travel policy;   reporting to the company regarding the selections of the user and the analysis of the selections; and   modifying the travel policy based on a feedback of the company or on the report to the company.   
     
     
         2 . A method as in  claim 1 , wherein the travel reservation comprises at least one of a reservation for a flight, bus, or train itinerary, a reservation for a lodging accommodation, a reservation for a car rental, a reservation for a food order, or a reservation for an entertainment. 
     
     
         3 . A method as in  claim 1 , wherein the displayed search results are arranged based on a preference profile of the employee. 
     
     
         4 . A method as in  claim 1 , wherein all the search results are displayed, including search results not meeting requirements of the travel policy or search results restricted by the travel policy. 
     
     
         5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . A method as in  claim 1 , wherein:
 the travel policy comprises upper threshold limits, lower threshold limits, and warning ranges for the travel related expenditures,   expenses above the upper threshold limits require approval from the company,   expenses under the lower threshold limits are automatically approved,   expenses within the warning ranges require justifications from the employee, and   the upper threshold limits and the lower threshold limits are based on market conditions.   
     
     
         7 . A method as in  claim 1 , wherein the annotation of the displayed search results comprises a notice of non-bookable together with a non-bookable reason, and an acceptance of a feedback from the employee. 
     
     
         8 - 9 . (canceled) 
     
     
         10 . A method as in  claim 1 , wherein the report to the company is configured to assist the company in updating the travel policy by setting limits of the travel expenditures to be conformed to market conditions. 
     
     
         11 . A method as in  claim 1 , wherein the report to the company comprises current market values of the travel related expenditures to assist the company in modifying the travel policy. 
     
     
         12 . A method as in  claim 1 , wherein the report to the company comprises justifications of the employee for the selections including warning notices. 
     
     
         13 . A method as in  claim 1 , wherein the travel policy is modified to improve efficiency and cost effectiveness of the travel expenses. 
     
     
         14 . A method as in  claim 1 , wherein the travel policy is modified to improve controls of the travel expenditures of the employee. 
     
     
         15 . A method as in  claim 1 , wherein the travel policy is modified based on the selections of the user to improve satisfaction of the employee. 
     
     
         16 . (canceled) 
     
     
         17 . A method as in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 upon receiving the selections indicating a non-compliance with the travel policy as indicated by the annotation, generating an intermediary graphical user interface rendered to accept a justification from the employee.   
     
     
         18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 forming a travel policy for an organization, wherein the travel policy comprises restrictions regarding travel related expenditures of multiple persons associated with the organization;   receiving, from a person of the multiple persons associated with the organization, a search request for a travel reservation, wherein expenses of the travel reservation of the person are governed by the travel policy of the organization;   generating search results based on the search request for the travel reservation;   displaying the search results, wherein the displayed search results are annotated based on the travel policy;   analyzing selections of the person from the search results to provide a degree of compliance with the travel policy through a machine learning process or an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm;   reporting to the organization regarding the selections of the person and the analysis of the selections; and   modifying the travel policy based on a feedback of the organization or on the report to the organization.   
     
     
         20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A method as in  claim 1 , wherein the modified travel policy is applicable to the multiple employees of the company. 
     
     
         22 . A method as in  claim 1 , wherein the report to the company occurs at a determined interval. 
     
     
         23 . A method as in  claim 1 , wherein the report to the company is configured to assist the company in negotiating with preferred suppliers to update the travel policy. 
     
     
         24 . A method as in  claim 1 , wherein the report to the company is configured to assist the company in regulating the travel expenditures by updating the travel policy. 
     
     
         25 . A method as in  claim 1 , wherein the report to the company is configured to assist the company in updating the travel policy to improve satisfaction of the employee. 
     
     
         26 . A method as in  claim 1 , wherein the annotation of the displayed search results comprises a notice of warning together with a reason for the warning notice, and a request for a justification from the employee.